Even if you know the German vocabulary, gender system, verb conjugation and the case system well, communication isn’t possible if your accent isn’t good enough. To deal with this issue, you need to work specifically on your German accent.<\/p>\n
Here are the keys to achieving a native level German accent, with plenty of audio and examples to guide you along your German learning journey.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
Most of the letters in the German alphabet are consonants, so it’s only fitting that we start with those here.<\/p>\n
Many German consonants are pronounced much like in English, which is also a Germanic language, but there are some key differences.<\/p>\n
You probably already knew this one. But say “yes” to J, as this letter is pronounced with a Y. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n
Like in these examples:<\/p>\n
What did the drums say to the guitar? \u2014 Ba-dum-tss<\/strong>!\u00a0<\/p>\n This percussion punctuation to a joke is a good thing to keep in mind when it comes to the letter Z. That’s because in German, the letter Z is pronounced like the sound of a cymbal\u2014”tss.” You find this sound in English in words like “artsy” or “tsunami.”<\/p>\n Here are some examples to illustrate this pronunciation:<\/p>\n In German, the letter V is pronounced like the English F. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n CH doesn’t really belong at the beginning of any bonafide German word. But that’s not the case for the numerous loanwords that stem from other languages. Total gate crashers, right?<\/p>\n Words from across the border in France have a SHH sound:<\/p>\n English loanwords, or German neologisms inspired by the English word, keep their CHU sound:\u00a0<\/p>\n If they don’t seem French or English, perhaps Greek or Latin, you bring it all the way back to a more Germanic K sound:<\/p>\n The CH sound isn’t made at the front of your mouth, but rather in your throat. Think less Bowie “ch-ch-ch-changes…” and more how the Scottish pronounce the CH in “loch.”<\/p>\n In fact, you’ve clearly spent too much time in a cold Highland “loch” and caught yourself a cold\u2014because the CH sound in German sounds just like when you’ve got some phlegm stuck in your throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here’s a few examples:<\/p>\n When you find “ST” at the beginning of a word, it’s pronounced more like “SHHT.”<\/p>\n To help remember this: Imagine you’re in a library and someone is talking, so you shoosh them\u2014SHH! But this hasn’t stopped them, so you launch your tongue to the top of your mouth to give them a good tutting as punishment\u2014TUH. Now put them together\u2014SHH-TUH.\u00a0<\/p>\n Listen to these examples to learn the sound:\u00a0<\/p>\n Similarly, the SP combination in German is pronounced with a clear SHH sound followed by sudden, plosive P sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you find an ST or an SP in the middle or end of a word, there is no change to the S sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, in German, the TH sound as in English is typically pronounced as either T or D. German does not have the same TH sound as English, so when encountering words with TH in German, you replace it with the closest German sounds.<\/p>\n Just like the PH in English, PF is pronounced as a simple F sound in German. So get your PH in balance and listen to these examples:<\/p>\n In German, the R sound can be pronounced more gutturally, especially at the beginning of a word. This guttural or uvular R is produced using the uvula, which is the fleshy extension at the back of the throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n The R sound in German can be more guttural or rolling, especially when it appears at the beginning of a word or after a vowel. It’s not the same as the English R sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Think back to the guttural sound we made for CH. Think of this as a precursor CH-R.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The letter \u00df<\/em> in German is called “Eszett” or “scharfes S<\/em>,” and it represents a specific sound. Its name comes from a combination of the letters S and Z.<\/p>\n Though the \u00df may look like a B on steroids, there’s no need to be intimidated, because it actually just makes a normal S sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some examples:<\/p>\n We pronounce the letter Q like “kyoo” in English. But in German, the sound starts off the same with the K, but then comes the curveball\u2014KFUH.\u00a0<\/p>\n KF-onfused? Don’t worry, here are some examples to help:\u00a0<\/p>\n German vowels also have some similarities with English vowels, but there are some key and notable differences.<\/p>\n In German, the letter A is generally pronounced as an open back unrounded vowel, similar to the A in English “father.” Here’s a few examples:<\/p>\n The letter E can have two slightly different pronunciations, depending on the letters that follow it.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you have an E followed by a cluster of consonants, then it’ll most often be an EH sound, like in “get”.\u00a0<\/p>\n Got it? Well, here’s some examples just in case:<\/p>\n But if your E is not followed by a bunch of consonants, it’s more like the AY in “lay”.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is the same sound with double EE too:<\/p>\n Just like E, the letter I has two possible pronunciations, depending on the letters that follow it. But this time, there’s a big difference.<\/p>\n If you have an I followed by a cluster of consonants, then it will almost always be a short I, pronounced like the I in “bitten.”<\/p>\n This can be seen in one of the simplest German words:ich<\/em><\/strong> (I). Because the I\u00a0<\/em>is followed by a cluster of consonants C\u00a0<\/em>and H, you pronounce it with a short IH sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Poor I, always being chomped on by those consonant clusters… Here’s a few more examples:\u00a0<\/p>\n But when the letter I isn’t being ganged up on by consonants, it squeals with joy, and makes an EE sound. For example, in another simple German word wir<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(we), there’s only one consonant after the I, so you pronounce it “veer.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Here’s some more examples of the long I:<\/p>\n Copying its older siblings, the O can be short or long, too.<\/p>\n When O is followed by a cluster of consonants, it’s usually pronounced like the AU in “auto” for American English or the O in “hot” for British English. Here’s a couple of examples:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n But when O is not followed by a bunch of consonants, it’s usually pronounced like a simple “oh.” Like, “oh wow, I can’t believe it’s that simple.” Here are a couple of examples:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Umlauts, those two dots above some vowels, are special characters in German, and they affect the pronunciation of the vowels. The three main umlauts in German are \u00c4, \u00d6 and \u00dc. Here are example words to illustrate their pronunciation:<\/p>\n \u00c4\u00a0<\/strong> can be long or short, but luckily you’ve already learnt it! It’s pronounced just like the standard German E, long, so like “EH” in “get”:<\/p>\n Or short, so like the “AY” in “lay:”<\/p>\n\n
4. V Is Pronounced Like F<\/h3>\n
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5. CH at the Beginning of the Word? Follow the Etymology!<\/h3>\n
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6. CH at the End of a Word is Throaty and Guttural\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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7. ST and SP Word Beginnings Change the S Sound<\/h3>\n
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8. TH Is Pronounced Just Like a T\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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9. PF Is Just Like PH in English<\/h3>\n
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10. R Is More Guttural<\/h3>\n
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11. Pronouncing the \u00df<\/em> (Eszett)<\/h3>\n
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12. Got a Q? How About a KUH-FUH?\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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Tips for Pronouncing Vowels<\/h2>\n
13. Pronounce A Like the A in “Father”<\/h3>\n
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14. The German E Can Be Short Or Long<\/h3>\n
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15. The German I Can Also Be Short Or Long<\/h3>\n
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16. You Guessed It: O Can Be Short Or Long Too<\/h3>\n
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17. Pronounce the Umlauts<\/h3>\n
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